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Farm Kitchen:  Time to Ferment  |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
 Posted - Jun 12 2010 : 05:50:57 AM
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I made some kimchi the other day. Got some good fresh Napa cabbage from the FM and some radishes. I had carrots and pulled some green onions from the garden. I had ginger. So I threw it all in the food processor, added a little whey and salt and smooshed it all up til it was nice and watery. Then put it in a quart jar. It's been sitting on the counter since Wed. afternoon. I've been tasting it and it's good! Tomorrow I'll put it in the fridge.
I would like to ferment some nice spring veggies too. I also have my kefir and kambucha on the counter. I love all this good fermented food.
Does anyone else ferment their veggies? I would love some good recipes. I want to make sauer kraut this summer too. But something is eating the heck out of my row of cabbage.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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LindaAlbert
Farmgirl in Training
31 Posts
Linda
Belgrade
Montana
USA
31 Posts |
Posted - Jun 12 2010 : 08:16:45 AM
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I love fermented vegetables. Must be my German/Russian heritage. Sauerkraut, kimchi (with only one hot pepper!), kvass, kosher dills. Kept a kefir culture going for a while but it went very ropey on me and I couldn't save it. I'm eating more yogurt now and I seem okay with it. I'm lactose intolerant which is why I had the kefir going in the first place.
Throw some diamtomaceous earth on your cabbages. It will take care of what ever is chewing them up.
Linda
"There is no faith which has never yet been broken except that of a truly faithful dog."
Konrad Lorenz |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Jun 12 2010 : 12:19:17 PM
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Hey Linda. That's what I have done for the past week to my cabbages. There's hardly anything left now. I will just have to buy cabbage at the market, I guess.
I have always loved dill pickles. I am German also. My maiden name is Schwab.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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quiltin mama
True Blue Farmgirl
436 Posts
Heather
Crescent City
CA
USA
436 Posts |
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urban chickie
True Blue Farmgirl
734 Posts
Catherine
Niles
IL
USA
734 Posts |
Posted - Jun 12 2010 : 4:22:37 PM
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I made sauerkraut last year with half green, half red cabbage and the kraut turned out a lovely hot pink! Always a conversation piece when you pull that out lol. This year I am planning to try something I read somewhere, adding finely diced apples, onions, and caraway to the kraut. Doesn't that sound yummy?
I made kimchi for the first time last year and loved it so much I went a little wild and made a bunch of different ones. While a lot of folk around here seem to think of the deep red, hot hot hot type made with fish sauce as the only authentic type, you can really do anything you want and most likely it won't be original. I made a nice fruit one with cashews that I loved. Another one had beets and pineapple, but was savory. So good! I would come home from a long hard day at work and not have to cook, just steam some rice and plop some kimchi on it and I was golden.
OK, I just ate and somehow my mind now thinks it is hungry again!!
Catherine
Farmgirl #1370
City Girl By Birth,
Suburbanite By Location,
Farmgirl at Heart
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vintage saver
True Blue Farmgirl
323 Posts
oleta
wheelersburg
ohio
USA
323 Posts |
Posted - Jun 12 2010 : 7:25:00 PM
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| I make Floyd what he calls hot tomato kraut. You chop up cabbage and a lot of green tomatoes and a few or however many you want little red hot peppers and pack into sterilized jars. To a quart of mixture you add 1 Tbs. canning salt and cover with boiling water and screw the lids on very tight and it's ready like kraut does. Rinse and fry with bacon grease. Good with beans and fried potatoes. |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Jun 13 2010 : 4:22:28 PM
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Oleta, that sounds like something my mom and hubby would like. They like the hot stuff.
I just love all the stuff on the counter doing it's thing. We had some of the kimchi-kraut for dinner today. It was really good. We had meatloaf and we put some on it. I like that. Even hubby and step dad liked it.
Catherine, I made the kraut last year with purple and white cabbage and got pink. It was good. I'll have to try it with caraway seeds sometime.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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MaryLD
True Blue Farmgirl
861 Posts
Mary
New Braunfels
TX
USA
861 Posts |
Posted - Jun 13 2010 : 5:08:42 PM
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We make our kraut and kosher dills in a 7.5 liter Harsch crock. It's pretty foolproof, since the design creates an airlock and it's really, really hard for any of the wrong flora to get established. There are weights that fit right in the crock, and then there is a lid. Around the rim, there's a moa
that you fill with water. The whole design allows to kraut to off gas, but it is like a one way arlock. Hence, NO skimming, no mold, no yeast at my house, to date!!
My son grates organic cabbage on a Czech kraut board, and I weigh it in my kitchen scale. We use 3 T sea salt to every 5 lb cabbage. I end up putting 12-15 lb of cabbage in my big crock. We grate the whole core and most of the outer leaves. The really tough outer leave I use to put nder the weights / above the kraut. You can eat them whole when they come out, or make little stuffed appetizers. I save them in the fridge. It takes 4-6 weeks to be ready to OUR taste and it makes about 7 quarts. Some peole like it less sour, but I go for the longer fermentation time at a cooler room temp for sour, crispy kraut.
Urban Chickie and I are in an honorary club I designed. I have not done anything with it yet, but it is the Live- Action Fermentation Society, " LAFS". If you like to ferment, consider yourself a member!
~ Mary LD
Haflingers- You can't have just one!
( I'm just one short of a drill team!) |
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brightmeadow
True Blue Farmgirl
2045 Posts
Brenda
Lucas
Ohio
USA
2045 Posts |
Posted - Jun 13 2010 : 5:51:14 PM
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I love you girls! I had to go to South Korea for business earlier this year and had kimchi every day for a week. I came back and ordered some Korean cookbooks from used bookstores online - so I have recipes, but I am afraid to try it! I have German heritage and I am afraid to try making sauerkraut!
I think the problem is, I have no one to mentor me -- to look into my crock and say ---OH NO, that's spoiled and full of Listeria, throw it away now!
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands - You shall be happy and it shall be well with you. -Psalm 128.2
Visit my blog at http://brightmeadowfarms.blogspot.com ,web site store at http://www.watkinsonline.com/fish or my homepage at http://home.earthlink.net/~brightmeadow |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Jun 13 2010 : 6:20:04 PM
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Brenda, that's me. I have to see it done or be shown how. I cannot read a book and learn. But I did do it this time. I guess major things, like making soap or cheese is where I have to be shown. Then I am good to go on my own. This is fairly easy to make. I have also done the kraut that just sits on the counter for a few days. It's just real fine cut up cabbage and salt. That's it. Real easy. You could start with that.
Mary, I would love to be a member of the LAFS. That sounds right up my alley. Thanks. What do I need to do to join? I had looked into getting one of those Harsch crocks. But need to save up some money. That seems to be the way to go. I have the site saved and I go look and dream. One day I will have one. It sounds so easy and fool proof.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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urban chickie
True Blue Farmgirl
734 Posts
Catherine
Niles
IL
USA
734 Posts |
Posted - Jun 13 2010 : 7:23:36 PM
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I am just the opposite - I spent the first half of my life dreaming of things because no one I knew did them to show me. I just sort of decided it was time to stop dreaming! But I guess I am lucky in that I can teach myself most stuff out of books. I have learned to always read a few sources, because any one might not get it quite right. But it's the same with watching others, too. I know folk who will repeat myths as gospel. just because that's what they were taught and what they do works so why fiddle with it?
From fermenters online I came to the conclusion that you are more likely to get food poisoning from vinegar-pickling and canning than fermenting. A good ferment actually helps destroy the bad stuff. The most critical time is at the beginning. As far as I can tell, if you keep a good eye on it, you are good to go. Bad germies make their presence well known fairly quickly in a ferment. My worry is after it's all done, how long can it last? I ate my kimchis up fairly quickly last winter because I just wasn't sure about that end of things....
I *dream* of having a few Harsch crocks, brewing all sorts of yummies!
Does anyone make their own miso? I wanted to try that this year but it may have to wait, I am just TOO busy with work stuff right now.
Catherine
Farmgirl #1370
City Girl By Birth,
Suburbanite By Location,
Farmgirl at Heart
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MaryLD
True Blue Farmgirl
861 Posts
Mary
New Braunfels
TX
USA
861 Posts |
Posted - Jun 14 2010 : 2:11:03 PM
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Kristen,
I too saved and saved for my HArsch crock!
To be a member of LAFS, you just have to say you want to be a member! It's an honorary club. I would like to design something we can freezer paper stencil onot T shirts as members. Maybe LAFS should be a Yahoo group??
Mary LD
Haflingers- You can't have just one!
( I'm just one short of a drill team!) |
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LindaAlbert
Farmgirl in Training
31 Posts
Linda
Belgrade
Montana
USA
31 Posts |
Posted - Jun 14 2010 : 7:25:24 PM
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I looked longlingly at the Harsch crocks at a website for a while, but the size I wanted would have been prohibitively expensive for me. Then when I was in my local liquor/wine store and saw their beer making supplies it clicked--I could use a five gallon bucket with an air lock designed for fermenting beer to make sauerkraut. I fill it about 3/4 full and use my biggest straight rolling pin as a masher. Works wonderfully and was cheap to boot. Not as picturesque as a traditional crock, but easier to lift and clean and store. Kimchee I make in a clamp lid 1/2 gallon jar. A 3 gallon bucket with an O-ring gasket would be nice. I'm going to look around for one of those. I freeze my kraut by the way instead of canning it because I want to keep the culture alive.
"There is no faith which has never yet been broken except that of a truly faithful dog."
Konrad Lorenz |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Jun 15 2010 : 3:45:50 PM
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Catherine, I have heard of miso but never had it. Can you explain what it is?
Mary, I have no idea about a Yahoo group. I am so computer stupid. I have to get my daughters to come help me email a picture or do just about anything on here.
Linda, I can't even imagine what you've come up with there. I would love to see a picture. It sounds very ingenious for sure. When I make kraut I just cut up the cabbage real fine and layer with salt and bash it down in the jar til liquid comes up over the top. Then let sit about a week. It's really good. I eat it just like that.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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urban chickie
True Blue Farmgirl
734 Posts
Catherine
Niles
IL
USA
734 Posts |
Posted - Jun 15 2010 : 10:14:43 PM
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Kristin, miso is a fermented condiment of rice and a legume - traditionally soybeans, but others have been used in Japan and *many* others are used in modern interpretations. The rice is inoculated with very specific mold spores which makes its own fermentation before the legumes and salt are added. Most miso is then fermented at least a year, the nicer types for three. The finished miso is very salty but also has other minerals like potassium that help balance that salt in the body. Miso is believed to help cleanse the body of heavy metals in particular, and those keeping a traditional macrobiotic diet with daily miso around Hiroshima did not develop radiation sickness. It was even used in a nearby medical clinic for that reason! I started using it just because I like the flavor, before I knew that though. You don't eat it straight, usually it is mixed a bit into soup. A little goes a long way and really adds a complexity you wouldn't expect from one ingredient. The absolutely best miso I have ever had is from South River Miso Co., they are organic and use the old methods to ferment.
Yahoo groups are real easy to set up. There have been a few attempts from others to start overall fermenting groups, but they never seemed to really take off. We need to keep recruiting LOL!!
Catherine
Farmgirl #1370
City Girl By Birth,
Suburbanite By Location,
Farmgirl at Heart
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Nigella
True Blue Farmgirl
386 Posts
Nigella
Chimacum
WA
USA
386 Posts |
Posted - Jun 16 2010 : 08:38:34 AM
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I've always wanted to do my own fermenting, haven't been brave enough yet.... I did find a lovely 20 gallon crock at the 'ol second hand a while back now I just need a lid!
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work."
~Thomas Edison~
Sister #1213
www.thecapriciouscorgi.etsy.com |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Jun 16 2010 : 1:57:59 PM
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Nigella, I think you can just use a plate that fits down in the crock with a little tine space for it to breath. That's what I have heard and read anyway. The juice has to cover whatever you are fermenting. Just jump in and try a little first.
Catherine, the miso sounds interesting.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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nubidane
True Blue Farmgirl
2882 Posts
Lisa
Georgetown
OH
2882 Posts |
Posted - Jun 16 2010 : 3:45:56 PM
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Kris
Could you post a little recipe for your kimchee?? I love hot, spicy, fermented.. Yummo(no sweet tooth here, just EVERYTHING else!) |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Jun 16 2010 : 3:59:03 PM
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Hi Lisa. I have missed you. How is your kambucha? The kimchi I made was really easy. It's a napa cabbage, a few radishes, 2 carrots, 3 green onoins, 1 T grated fresh ginger, 1 T red pepper flakes, more if you like it hotter, 1 T salt and a few tsp. whey. Just stick all the veggies in a food processor and process til all is chopped up. Put in a bowl and add salt and whey. If you don't have whey then add 1 T. more salt. Then squeeze it all by hand til it's juicy and put in a quart jar. Let it sit on counter 3-5 days. Then refridgerate and eat. She uses it on salads. It really is good. I guess you could add any veggies to it. Just have fun with it.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Jun 16 2010 : 4:05:15 PM
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I forgot to tell something funny. My oldest DD does not like goat milk. She says she knows when I put it in anything. Mashed potatoes or biscuits. Anything. Well, she ate a few bites of this the other day and she asked if it had goat milk in it. I was amazed. But I said why in the world would I put goat milk in this? I did, but just a few little teaspoons. It's not going to kill her. I was amazed that she could taste it in all that. I thought that was pretty funny.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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nubidane
True Blue Farmgirl
2882 Posts
Lisa
Georgetown
OH
2882 Posts |
Posted - Jun 16 2010 : 5:00:47 PM
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Thanks Kris.. I have been way too busy with work. Kombucha is doing great. I have a batch that smells really strong right now. Can you store the scoby if you do not need any more tea?? Do you just let it sit & ferment??
I will try the kimchee here soon. Have a busy week & I think I have to put down my 13 YO Dane. I am dreading/putting it off. I have never been w/o a Dane, & right now she is my last. Thanks for your help.
That's funny about your daughter. She knows her mama well!! Ha! |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Jun 16 2010 : 5:25:29 PM
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Lisa. I'm so sorry about your dog. Goodness, that's pretty old for such a big dog. My Rat terrier sisters will be 13 July 7th. I can't believe they are so old now. They are both just about deaf and have cataracts. Poor little things. But they just keep going. Is yours having alot of problems? I don't know alot obaou Danes except they are huge dogs and probably have bone problems. I will be thinking of you.
I think you can put the kambucha in the fridge if you aren't using it. That's what I did anyway. With some of the liquid. Then when you are ready to use just pull it out and add more tea. Catherine knows alot more about it. Urban Chickie I think.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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urban chickie
True Blue Farmgirl
734 Posts
Catherine
Niles
IL
USA
734 Posts |
Posted - Jun 16 2010 : 9:24:15 PM
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No - keep that kombucha SCOBY out of the frig!! Bad place for it, the cold throws the balance of yeasts and bacteria all off. It might not re-balance properly later. One of the wonderful things about KT is that you can leave that SCOBY at room temps indefinitely, as long as it doesn't dry out. Keep a SCOBY hotel by putting one or several SCOBYs in a glass jar and top with a few inches of KT. A new SCOBY will eventually form but that's OK. The tea will get very vinegary, which makes excellent starter for a new batch or for shipping if you share SCOBYs. The lower ph protects the sweet tea from mold before fermentation starts in a new batch. I always have several SCOBYs on hand (to ship to someone, or for flavored and/or experimental teas). I keep a paper towel with rubber band on top but some folk use a regular lid. I prefer it to breathe, but do keep a watch if you don't use it for too long. Don't let it dry out, add new kt if air pockets form under the top SCOBY. Much healthier for it than the frig!
Catherine
Farmgirl #1370
City Girl By Birth,
Suburbanite By Location,
Farmgirl at Heart
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Jun 17 2010 : 03:50:41 AM
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Thank you, Catherine. I knew you would have the answer. So I have a qt jar in the fridge. It's been a few months now so I guess I should just compost it? It's not like I don't have plenty of it. I did leave a jug with a few cups of the tea with the scoby in it on the back porch for a long time. I finally made tea a few weeks ago with it. So it should be really good then. Thanks again. I know who I will go to next time!
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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nubidane
True Blue Farmgirl
2882 Posts
Lisa
Georgetown
OH
2882 Posts |
Posted - Jun 17 2010 : 07:05:56 AM
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| OK, just to clarify..it's OK to put the tea in the fridge, right?? Just not the scoby?? |
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urban chickie
True Blue Farmgirl
734 Posts
Catherine
Niles
IL
USA
734 Posts |
Posted - Jun 17 2010 : 07:31:10 AM
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Kristin, yeah I would just compost it. I base that not on personal experience but on that from others who have been there, done that LOL.
And yes, Lisa, the fermented tea is fine to store in the frig, just not the SCOBY. The frig is actually the best place for the SCOBY-less tea as it will slow fermentation down so much that it will store for months without getting too vinegary, providing it was drinkable when it went it.
OK, now I must go to work. Bleh. More fun playing on the puter :)
And then last night my aunt, who's in town from halfway across the continent, helping her grown son move into his new apt here in Chicago from TX, fell down the stairs and broke her leg and is having surgery this morning, sigh. Over 10 years ago she twisted her ankle mowing the lawn, fell down and shattered her ankle, has 15 pounds of hardware keeping it all together. The bone was spongy, advanced osteo. Severe osteo runs on that side of the family but even the doctors raise their eyebrows when they hear of spongy bone premenopausally. The break from yesterday is right above that old brake, thus the surgery. Poor thing is only in her early 60s now, to go through all this and so far from home and all to boot.....any prayers sent her way will be greatly appreciated!! I am so on edge and didn't sleep good, I can't imagine dealing with it all and right now we have no idea when she'll be able to travel back home. All 3 folk she knows here - son, niece, brother in law - all live on 2nd or 3rd floor apts. Her son may be carrying her upstairs after she gets out of the hospital!!
Catherine
Farmgirl #1370
City Girl By Birth,
Suburbanite By Location,
Farmgirl at Heart
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Farm Kitchen: Time to Ferment |
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Time to Ferment
